ZGMF-X999A ZAKU Mass Production Trial Type
The ZGMF-X999A ZAKU Mass Production Trial Type is a Mobile Suit that first appeared in the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny MSV. It later appeared in the manga, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Astray. Technology & Combat Characteristics Impressed by the performance of the nuclear powered ZGMF-X series of Gundams (such as Justice Gundam and Freedom Gundam), ZAFT decided to equip its new mass production suit with a nuclear reactor and the end result was the ZGMF-X999A ZAKU Mass Production Trial Type. The suit is also equipped with Phase Shift armor, and its armaments consisted of a pair of railguns, a pair of tomahawk axes and a shield. Interestingly, the suit has no beam weapons despite earlier units like ZGMF-600 GuAIZ having them and even though the ZAKU has more than sufficient power to do so. The ZAKU Mass Production Trial Type would later serve as precursor of the battery powered ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior. The fact that both suits have very similar structure highlights the point that the ZAKU Mass Production Trial Type was designed for mass production. The head fin that is somewhat similar to the ZGMF-1017 GINN's shows that design wise, the suit serves as a transitional unit between the ZAKU Warrior and the GINN. Armaments ;*Large Caliber Railgun :The ZAKU Mass Production Trial Type is armed with a pair of large caliber railguns on its backpack, they serve as the suit's only ranged weapon and are positioned under the shoulders when in use. The railguns employ electromagnetic forces to accelerate metal projectiles to high velocities, giving them tremendous kinetic energy. ;*DFX25 High Frequency Blade Tomahawk :For melee combat, the suit is equipped with a pair of tomahawk axes stored on the backpack. As its name implies, the blade of the tomahawk oscillates at high speeds improving its cutting power. ;*Shield :A handheld defensive equipment, the shield helps to protect the suit against enemy attacks that the pilot cannot or will not avoid. The shield is also anti-beam coated to defend against beam attacks. Special Equipment & System Features ;*Neutron Jammer Canceller :The Neutron Jammer Canceller is designed to counter the effects of the ubiquitous Neutron Jammers and allows the suit to be powered by nuclear reactors. This gives it almost limitless combat endurance, even with Phase Shift armor activated. ;*Phase Shift armor :Phase Shift armor, when activated, renders the suit immune to most physical attacks. It also changes the suit's color from light grey to a mainly yellow scheme. Thanks to the nuclear reactor, the suit's Phase Shift armor is capable of being active for a lot longer than on non-nuclear powered suits. History Shortly after the end of the First Alliance-PLANT War, ZAFT started planning for a new generation of mass production mobile suit, and the ZAKU Mass Production Trial Type was produced for testing. One of the numerous ZAKU Mass Production Trial Types manufactured was piloted by ZAFT pilot Courtney Heironimus, who tested the suit in the United States of South America in December, CE 71. During the testing, Courtney engaged several GAT-02L2 Dagger L units in combat. Afterwards he fought against the MWF-JG71 Raysta of Yoon Sefan, which was piloted by Barry Ho, who managed to evade Courtney and eventually escape. A total of 47 ZAKU Mass Production Trial Types, with some slight differences among each of them, were manufactured before its production stop due to the Junius Seven Treaty that banned all military applications of the N-Jammer Canceller. In accordance with the Treaty, ZAFT dismantled all 47 units. The ZAKU Mass Production Trial Types was later redesigned into the ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior, which was battery powered and had no Phase Shift armor. The ZAKU Warrior then defeated the initial design of ZGMF-X2000 GOUF Ignited and ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper Original Spec Type, and was chosen to be the first of ZAFT's New Millenium Series of next generation mass production MS. Trivia & Notes *The ZAKU Mass Production Trial Type has numerous similarities to the MS-05 Zaku I. *The color scheme of the YFX-600R GuAIZ Experimental Firearms Type is similar to the X999A ZAKU, likely hinting at their shared purpose to evaluate new weapon systems. External links *ZGMF-X999A ZAKU Mass Production Trial Type on MAHQ.net